i,\Ho  w  calm  and  qalet  a  delicjht  Is  It }  alo 
To  r»ead  .and  roedttateand  write. 
by  none  offended  and  off 'end  iog  J)c 

(CHARLES  COTTON  ifc3o-8r) 

EX  LIBBIS 

ANDREWS 


pIFTY    YEARS  WITH  THE 
REVERE  COPPER  Co. 

A  PAPER  READ  AT  THE  STOCK- 
HOLDERS' MEETING  HELD  ON 
MONDAY  24  MARCH  1890  BY 
ITS  TREASURER  S.  T.  SNOW 


BOSTON 


PRESS  OF  SAMUEL  USHER, 
BOSTON,  MASS. 


by   request,   and    for    use,    of   the 
Stockholders. 


Copper 


I 

2UOtt)  by  way  of  introduction. 
My  first  appearance  in  the  Revere  Copper 
Company's  office,  then  at  No.  22  Union  Street,1 
was  on  Monday  morning,  March  23,  1840. 
Saturday  night  last,  therefore,  completed  the 
full  period  of  fifty  uninterrupted  years  of 
service. 

In  the  nature  of  things  it  cannot  be  expected 
that  this  record  will  be  repeated  by  me,  nor 
can  any  one  else  duplicate  it  for  a  long  time  to 
come.  There  is  no  other  stockholder  whose 
certificate  bears  an  earlier  date  than  1881,  and 

1  The  office  and  storehouse  were  removed  June  i,  1843,10  No.  97  State  Street; 
again  July  I,  1867,  to  No.  47  Kilby  Street ;  and  still  again,  November  i,  1888,  to  No.  369 
Atlantic  Avenue,  where  they  now  are.  In  the  conflagration  of  November  9  and  10, 
1872,  the  building  Nos.  45  and  47  Kilby  Street  was  destroyed.  During  its  reconstruc- 
tion, just  one  year,  building  No.  113  (later  117)  State  Street,  corner  of  Broad  Street, 
was  occupied. 

5 


ftcbere  Copper  Companp 


no  one  in  the  office  has  a  retrospect  of  twenty 
years  even.2 

The  Company  was  incorporated  and  organ- 
ized in  the  year  1828.  In  1840,  all  the  origi- 
nal corporators,  or  associates,  were  living. 
Other  stockholders  from  their  families  were 
afterwards  added,  but  they  all,  the  first  afso- 
ciates  and  the  others  subsequently  admitted, 
have  passed  away.  It  follows  that,  at  the 
present  time,  there  is  no  other  one  living  who 
has  been  brought  into  daily  business  inter- 
course with  the  members  of  this  Company 
from  its  very  beginning. 

It  would  therefore  seem  to  be  a  very 
proper  and  fitting  thing  for  me,  on  so  inter- 
esting an  occasion,  to  review  somewhat  the 
personnel  of  the  Company. 

2  Mr.  James  Edmiston  Brown  came  into  the  office  February  8,  1873.  He  deserves 
special  mention  here  for  his  faithful,  efficient,  and  valuable  services. 


Copper  Companp 


II. 

thereto,  however,  a  brief  his- 
torical statement  should  be  made  of  the  begin- 
nings of  the  enterprises  to  which  the  Company 
succeeded. 

In  January,  1801,  Colonel  Paul  Revere1 
bought  the  old  powder-mill  at  Canton,  where 
during  the  Revolutionary  War,  largely  by  his 
instrumentality  and  agency,  the  Colony  and 
State  had  been  supplied  with  powder.  He  and 
his  son,  Mr.  Joseph  W.  Revere,  under  the 
firm-name  of  Paul  Revere  &  Son,  erected 
and  adapted  the  buildings  necessary  for  the 
manufacture  of  copper  into  sheets  and  bars. 

i  He  was  commissioned  by  Governor  Shirley,  February  29,  1756,  as  lieutenant  of 
artillery  "  for  service  in  the  expedition  to  Crown  Point,  under  command  of  General 
John  Winslow  " ;  by  a  majority  of  the  Council,  then  at  Watertown,  April  10, 1776,  as 
major  in  the  regiment  commanded  by  Colonel  Josiah  Whitney,  "for  service  in  the 
defence  of  Boston  Harbor " ;  and  by  the  same  authority,  November  29,  1776,  as 
lieutenant-colonel  of  artillery,  "for  defence  of  the  State  and  for  the  immediate  defence 
of  the  town  and  harbor  of  Boston,"  under  command  of  Colonel  Thomas  Crafts. 

Thereafter  he  was  always  known  by  his  neighbors  and  townspeople  as  "  Colonel 
Revere." 

7 


Copper  Companp 


In  the  years  1804  and  1805  Mr.  J.  \V. 
Revere  spent  considerable  time  on  a  visit  to 
England  and  the  continent  for  the  purpose  of 
obtaining  all  the  information  possible  in  the 
prosecution  of  their  undertaking. 

Colonel  Revere  claims,  in  letters  written  by 
him  at  the  time,  that  their  mill  for  rolling 
copper  was  the  first  erected  in  this  country.1 
And  it  may  be  said  in  passing  that  the  copper 
trade  in  England  was  hardly  more  advanced 
there  than  here. 

Their  business  grew  slowly,  but  it  made  a 
steady  progress  until  substantially  established. 
Colonel  Revere  died  in  1818,  but  the  son, 
Mr.  Joseph  W.  Revere,  continued  on  with  the 
manufactory  started  at  Canton  until  it  be- 
came a  part  of  the  incorporated  Company. 


1 "  The  Copper  Works  of  the  Messrs.  Revere  are  referred  to  by  various  writers  as 
of  Boston ;  Bishop  saying  that  '  in  1802  the  only  manufactory  of  sheet  copper  in  the 
country  was  that  of  the  Messrs.  Revere  at  Boston.'  The  facts  are  that  while  this 
firm  made  Boston  the  headquarters  of  its  business  the  manufactory  was  at  Canton 
where  soon  after  the  war  $25,000  had  been  invested  in  a  plant"  —  The  Memorial 
History  of  Boston,  vol.  iv,  page  81. 

8 


iicucrr  Copper  Company 


Singularly  coincident  with  the  events  already 
narrated,  Mr.  James  Davis,  but  five  months 
younger  than  Mr.  Joseph  W.  Revere,  had  come 
to  Boston  from  Barnstable,  his  native  town, 
and  acquired  here  a  trade,  reaching  his  majority 
in  1798. 

In  the  very  first  years  of  the  present  century 
he  established  himself  on  Union  Street  as  a 
brass  founder.  Here  he  continued,  gradually 
expanding  the  business  until  the  admission  of 
his  son,  Mr.  James  Davis,  Jr.,  as  a  partner, 
January  4,  1828,  when  the  firm-name  of  James 
Davis  &  Son  was  adopted. 


These  two  enterprises  naturally  ran  along 
very  much  together  in  certain  respects.  For 
instance,  in  their  trade  with  shipbuilders,  which 
was  an  important  feature  with  each ;  while  the 
foundry  was  turning  out  composition  castings 
required  for  fastenings,  the  mill  was  prepar- 


Copper  Company. 


ing  copper   in  its   various    forms    for   use  on 
the  same  vessel. 

It  was  therefore  to  be  expected  that  the  rapid 
revival  of  our  mercantile  marine  after  the  close 
of  the  second  war,  giving  to  both  these  firms 
a  largely  increased  trade,  would  bring  them 
into  very  intimate  relations  and  suggest  to 
them  the  wisdom  of  a  more  permanent  union. 


Out  of  these  conditions  finally  grew  the  in- 
corporated Company,  taking  the  family  name 
of  its  real  founder,  and  known  since  as  the 
Revere  Copper  Company. 


The  card  on  the  opposite  page  is  printed 
from  the  original  copperplate,  which  must 
have  been  engraved  earlier  than  the  year 
1804.  In  that  year  the  foundry  described  as 
"  at  the  north  part  of  Boston,"  which  was 
on  Lynn  Street,1  was  so  seriously  damaged 
in  a  severe  gale  that  it  was  not  afterwards 
repaired  nor  occupied ;  its  contents  and  the 
work  done  there  were  transferred  to  the 
copper-mill  at  Canton. 

The  plate  is  in  possession  of  the  present 
Mr.  J.  W.  Revere,  son  of  the  late  Mr.  John 
Revere,  and  has  been  kindly  loaned  for  use 
here. 

1  In  1800  Lynn  Street  extended  from  Winnisimmet  Ferry  to  Charles  River  Bridge. 
In  1833  it  was  merged  into  Commercial  Street. 


ftcfccre  Copper  Companp 


III. 


original  Chatter   of  this  Company 

was  approved  by  Governor  Levi  Lincoln, 
June  12,  1828.  The  corporators  named 
therein  were  J.  W.  Revere  and  F.  W.  Lincoln. 

The  charter  has  been  amended  by  approval 
of  Governor  George  N.  Briggs,  January  29, 
1845,  and  again  later  by  approval  of  Governor 
Henry  J.  Gardner,  March  9,  1855. 

At  the  first  meeting  of  the  corporators  held, 
for  organization,  at  Mr.  Revere's  counting- 
room,  No.  75  Kilby  Street,  Friday,  July  25, 
1828,  two  other  names  were  added,  and  the 
four  stand  recorded  in  the  following  order:  — 

JOSEPH    W.  REVERE. 
JAMES   DAVIS. 
FREDERICK   W.  LINCOLN. 
JAMES    DAVIS,   JR. 


Companp 


These  accordingly,  although  not  enumer- 
ated in  the  original  Act,  have  always  been 
spoken  of  as  the  corporators  or  original  asso- 
ciates. 


The  office  of  the  Revere  Copper  Company 
in  1840,  as  shown  in  the  frontispiece  hereto, 
occupied  so  much  of  the  building  on  Union 
Street  as  had  previously  been  devoted  by  Mr. 
Davis  to  a  shop,  wherein  were  displayed  the. 
wares  kept  by  him  for  sale,  and  still  earlier 
had  been  used  by  Mr.  Gay  for  the  same 
purpose. 


«3 


llfDcrc  vCoppcu  Companp 


IV. 


CClarrtU  tfcfccrc,  so  named  for 
General  Joseph  Warren  who  was  killed  at  the 
battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  and  with  whom  his 
father,  Colonel  Revere,  had  been  intimately 
associated  in  the  uprising  of  the  colonies,  was 
the  third  son  of  Paul  and  Rachel  (Walker) 
Revere. 

He  was  born  at  his  father's  house  in  North 
Square,  Boston,  April  30,  1777.  His  father 
was  absent  at  the  time  in  the  interest  of  the 
colony,  and  was  so  constantly  occupied  in 
public  affairs  that  he  did  not  return  to  take 
up  again  a  permanent  residence  with  his 
family  until  the  son  was  about  three  years 
old. 

The  son,  in  1801,  became  a  partner  in  busi- 
ness with  his  father,  and  so  continued  until 


ilcticvc  Copper  Company 


his  father's  death  in  1818.  His  mother  died 
June  19,  1813. 

He  was  a  Director  and  the  first  President 
of  the  Company,  and  continued  to  fill  these 
offices  until  his  death,  which  took  place  at 
his  summer  home  in  Canton,  after  a  some- 
what lingering  illness,  October  12,  1868. 

Mr.  Revere  grew  up,  and  was  deeply  im- 
pressed with  the  stirring  events  of  the  Revo- 
lutionary War ;  the  settlements  following 
peace ;  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitu- 
tion ;  the  administrations  of  Washington  and 
Adams,  and  the  final  formation  of  parties 
which  led  to  the  defeat  of  Adams  for  a  second 
term  and  the  election  of  Jefferson.  It  is  not 
strange,  therefore,  that  he  was  a  consistent 
Federalist,  and  subsequently  belonged  to  the 
old  Whig  party;  that  he  venerated  the 
worthies  of  the  republic,  Washington,  Franklin, 
and  Lafayette,  of  national  renown ;  Josiah 
Quincy,  Sam.  Adams,  and  others  of  the  State; 


ficucrc  Copper 


and  was  an  admirer  of  those  who,  like  Clay 
and  Webster,  continued  in  later  years  to  labor 
with  the  same  devotion  to  the  good  and  glory 
of  a  newborn  and  rising  nation. 

His  whole  character  seemed  to  have  been 
formed  of  soberer  and  more  profound  elements 
than  in  after  years  were  generally  recognized 
as  constituting  the  prevailing  types. 

Mr.  Revere  was  one  of  the  original  mem- 
bers of  the  Boston  Light  Infantry,  whose 
first  parade  took  place  October  18,  1798, 
under  command  of  Captain  Daniel  Sargent ; 
and  was  the  last  survivor  of  the  original 
membership.1 

His  patriotism,  inherited  from  a  distin- 
guished father,  was  pronounced,  and  remained 
unshaken  at  the  advanced  age  of  nearly  four- 
score years  and  ten,  through  the  terrible  orde- 
al of  parting  with  two  sons  killed,  one  at 


iFrom  an  unpublished  History  of  the  Boston  Light   Infantry.     By  William   W. 
Clapp,  Esq. 

16 


Antietam  and  the  other  at  Gettysburg,  while 
contending  for  the  existence  of  a  government 
their  grandfather  .  had  exerted  himself  so 
grandly  in  the  struggle  to  establish. 

Devoted  and  affectionate  in  his  domestic 
relations ;  thorough,  prudent,  and  sagacious 
in  business ;  impatient  with  meanness  and 
strong  in  his  resentment  of  wrong;  kind  and 
considerate  to  those  deserving  his  confidence ; 
courtly  in  bearing,  while  genial  and  sunny  in 
his  familiar  intercourse,  he  has  left  for  us  all 
a  very  precious  memory.  Every  recollection 
of  him  is  simply  delightful. 


Copper  Companp 


V. 


?&afci$  was  the  second  son  of  James 
and  Reliance  (Cobb)  Davis,  and  was  born  in 
Barnstable  September  28,  1777. 

He  was  a  descendant  of  Robert  Davis,  who 
was  living  in  Yarmouth  in  the  year  1643, 
removing  thence  to  Barnstable  in  1650,  where 
he  died  in  1693  at  the  age  of  seventy-one.  Of 
him  it  is  said  that  "  he  was  not  a  man  of 
wealth,  nor  distinguished  in  political  life,"  but 
"  his  character  for  honesty  and  industry  he 
transmitted  to  his  posterity."1 

Mr.  James  Davis,  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
was  the  third  in  descent  of  that  name. 

At  the  age  of  fourteen  he  was  bound  an 
apprentice  to  a  Mr.  Crocker,  —  who  was 
also  originally  from  Barnstable,  —  a  pewterer, 

i  From  "  Notes  of  Barnstable  Families,"  lately  published  by  Mr.  F.  B.  Goss. 

18 


itrucrc  Copper  Company 


carrying  on  business  at  the  "  South  End " 
in  Boston,  not  far  from  where  stood  the 
mansion  house  of  the  late  Mr.  John  D. 
Williams.  Shortly  after  the  apprenticeship 
of  Mr.  Davis  began,  Mr.  Crocker  secured 
the  services  of  a  Hessian,  —  supposed  to  be 
a  deserter  from  the  British  army,  —  who 
understood  and  communicated  the  art  of 
making  *  castings  of  brass  and  copper. 
From  this  time  and  from  this  beginning, 
as  Mr.  Davis  firmly  believed,  ships  built  in 
New  England  were  fastened  with  bolts, 
spikes,  etc.,  made  of  composition  instead  of 
iron  as  had  formerly  been  the  invariable 
practice.  Mr.  Crocker  was  a  man  of  some- 
what irregular  habits,  and  not  infrequently 
severe  in  his  treatment  of  the  apprentices, 
of  whom,  as  was  then  quite  a  common  custom, 
he  always  had  several.  At  this  time  it  hap- 
pened that  they  all  revolted  and  left  him,  save 
Mr.  Davis,  the  youngest  of  the  number.  He 


ilcucrc  Copper  Company 


remained  alone  to  the  end  of  his  term,  faith- 
fully complying  with  every  condition  of  his 
indenture. 

In  1800  Mr.  Davis,  then  twenty-three  years 
of  age,  hired  a  shop  on  Union  Street,  and 
started  in  business  for  himself  as  a  brass 
founder.  He  was  in  some  way  connected 
with  Martin  Gay,  a  proscribed  and  banished 
royalist  of  the  American  Revolution  and  an 
absentee  from  1776  to  1792*  On  the  return 
of  Mr.  Gay  in  the  last-named  year  he  resumed 
his  trade,  of  a  coppersmith  probably,  on  the 
property  in  Union  Street,  which  had  meanwhile 
been  held  and  occupied  by  his  wife  Ruth,  and 
whose  dower  therein  had  been  set  off  to  her 
by  the  Probate  Court.  Mr.  Gay  is  thereafter 
denominated  a  founder,  a  designation  it  is 


2  Sabine's  "  Loyalists  of  the  American  Revolution,"  1864,  vol.  i,  page  466. 

Martin  Gay  was  a  son  of  the  Rev.  Ebenezer  Gay,  pastor  of  the  First  Church  in 
Hingham  for  the  remarkably  long  period  of  sixty-eight  years,  nine  months,  and 
seventeen  days.  See  "  History  of  the  Town  of  Hingham,"  by  Solomon  Lincoln,  Jr., 
1827,  pages  26-30. 

Captain  Martin  Gay  was  one  of  the  firewards  elected  at  the  town  meeting, 
March  13,  1769.  —  Drake's  History  of  Boston,  page  756. 


thought  he  may  have  derived  from  his  employ- 
ment of,  or  association  with,  Mr.  Davis.  Mr. 
Gay  subsequently  proposed  to  Mr.  Davis  to 
sell  to  him  the  business,  and  further  to  aid 
him  with  such  pecuniary  assistance  as  he 
might  require  in  its  prosecution.  This  prop- 
osition was  finally  accepted,  but  not  without 
some  considerable  hesitation  on  the  part  of 
Mr.  Davis,  as  he  had  no  security  to  offer  for 
the  indebtedness  involved.  No  security  was 
required,  nor  was  any  ever  given,  but  the 
transaction  was  fully  completed  by  a  transfer, 
and  by  its  ultimate  payment  without  default. 
In  1807  the  remainder  of  Mr.  Gay's  original 
interest  in  the  real  estate  was  conveyed  by 
commissioners,  under  a  special  Act  of  the 
Legislature,  to  his  wife,  who  had  never 
swerved  from  her  loyalty  to  the  newly  formed 
government.  After  Mr.  Gay's  death,  in  1809, 
Mr.  Davis  bought  the  estate  from  the  widow, 
and  the  property,  as  enlarged  by  several 


Copper  Company 


subsequent  purchases,  still  remains  in  pos- 
session of  his  heirs.3 

He  occupied    the    entire    premises  with  his 

foundry,  shop,  and  residence,  for  many  years; 
associated  with  himself  his  son,  Mr.  James 
Davis,  Jr.,  as  a  partner,  January  4,  1828,  and 
finally  merged  the  business  into  the  Revere 
Copper  Company,  as  already  stated. 

Upon  the  organization  of  the  Company  he 
was  elected  Treasurer,  and  held  that  office 
until  January  22,  1843.  He  was  also  a  Di- 
rector until  his  death,  which  took  place  very 
suddenly  at  his  house  on  Tremont  Street, 
Boston,  April  25,  1862. 

He  was  persistently  industrious,  thrifty,  and 
scrupulously  upright  in  every  transaction, — 
qualities  transmitted  to  him  from  his  ancestor 
Robert, —  and  generous  withal  to  every  proper 
claim  upon  him.  He  gloried  in  his  early 

8  The  foregoing  is  taken  largely  from  Mr.  Joseph  T.  Buckingham's  Letter,  No. 
XVII,  in  The  Saturday  Evening  Gazette  of  May  21,  1859.  It  is  understood  that 
the  facts  contained  therein  were  obtained  by  him  directly  from  Mr.  Davis. 


ftebere  Copper  Companp 


struggles  to  overcome  adverse  conditions,  and 
was  gratified  to  be  numbered  with  those  from 
his  native  town  who  had  achieved  honorable 
distinction  in  the  various  activities  of  life. 

There  was  a  ruggedness  and  sharpness  of 
vigor  about  him  which  was  lost  sight  of  as  he 
ripened  and  mellowed  in  a  conspicuous  man- 
ner under  the  influences  of  ampler  means  and 
advancing  years.  The  simple  tastes  and  quiet 
ways  of  his  boyhood  home  were  however  to 
the  end  more  attractive  and  satisfactory  to 
him  than  the  demands  and  restraints  of  an 
increasingly  artificial  life. 

That  he  was  wise  and  farsighted  is  abun- 
dantly shown  by  the  fact  that  all  his  real 
estate  investments  are  held  intact  to  this 
day  by  his  heirs. 


ftebere  Copper  Companp 


VI. 

analfeer  JLtncoln  was  the  son  of 

Amos  and  Deborah  (Revere)  Lincoln,  and  was 
born  in  Boston  June  12,  1796. 

His  father  was  a  descendant  of  Samuel 
Lincoln,  who  came  to  Salem  from  Norwich,1 
England,  in  1637,  subsequently  removing  to 
Hingham.  The  father  was  a  conspicuous 
leader  in  the  destruction  of  tea  from  British 
ships  in  Boston  Harbor,  and  was  captain  of  an 
artillery  company  in  the  Revolutionary  War. 
He  was  constantly  associated  with  Colonel 
Paul  Revere,  and  between  them  there  always 
existed  the  most  cordial  relations  and  the 
utmost  confidence. 

His  mother  was  the  eldest  daughter  of 
Colonel  Revere. 

1  From  a  Genealogical  Memorandum  in  possession  of  Hon.  F.  W.  Lincoln. 

Cushing's  MSS.,  however,  quoted  by  Mr.  Solomon  Lincoln,  Jr.,  in  his  "  History  of 
Hingham,"  has  the  following  record :  "  1637.  John  Tower  and  Samuel  Lincoln  came 
from  old  Hingham,  and  both  settled  at  new  Hingham ;  Samuel  Lincoln  living  some 
time  at  Salem." 

24 


I 


ficucrr  Copper  Company 


Upon  his  mother's  death,  in  April,  1797, 
Mr.  Lincoln,  as  an  infant,  was  taken  into  his 
grandfather  Revere's  family,  where  he  re- 
mained until  the  grandfather  died,  in  1818. 

He  received  his  business  education  with  the 
firm  of  Paul  Revere  &  Son,  continuing  with 
the  son,  Mr.  J.  W.  Revere,  after  the  father's 
death.  At  one  time  he  was  in  Philadelphia 
for  a  year  or  two  adjusting  the  affairs  of  their 
agency,  which  under  a  previous  management 
had  fallen  into  some  disorder. 

He  was  married  to  Miss  Amelia  Howard,  of 
Boston,  in  August,  1819.  She  survived  him, 
dying  there  March  25,  1874. 

Upon  the  organization  of  the  Company  he 
was  placed  in  charge  of  the  works,  as  resident 
agent,  at  Canton.  He  retired  from  that  posi- 
tion September  n,  1858;  was  elected  Presi- 
dent, succeeding  his  uncle,  Mr.  J.  W.  Revere, 
January  4,  1869,  and  died  at  his  home  in  Bos- 
ton, January  10,  1871,  leaving  no  children. 


ficucrc  Copper  Companp 


He  visited  England  in  1843,  being  absent 
from  home  on  the  trip  only  about  three 
months. 

Unambitious  and  passionately  fond  of  his 
home,  he  was  seldom  away  from  it,  and  ac- 
cordingly led  an  extremely  quiet  and  une- 
ventful life. 

He  was  public-spirited,  taking  a  lively  in- 
terest in  town  and  county  affairs ;  was  for  a 
time  President  of  the  Neponset  Bank,  and 
also  President  of  the  Stoughton  Branch  Rail- 
road Company.  He  was  fond  of  outdoor  and 
military  life ;  was  a  member  of  the  Boston 
Hussars,  a  somewhat  famous  corps,  under  the 
command  of  Hon.  Josiah  Quincy,  and  later  a 
member  of  the  Boston  Cadets.  He  was  an 
aide  on  the  staff  of  Governor  Gardner,  and 
subsequently  senior  aide  on  the  staff  of  Gov- 
ernor Washburn. 

Patriotic  and  conservative  in  politics,  he 
naturally  allied  himself  with  the  Whig  party, 


ftebere  Copper  Companp 


upon  the  dissolution  of  which,  and  during  the 
last  war,  he  was  a  staunch  Republican. 

Moderate  in  his  views,  unaggressive  in  his 
plans,  and  absolutely  without  display,  he  pro- 
voked no  antagonisms.  Genial  in  disposition, 
quick  and  ready  with  his  sympathy,  and  always 
a  cheerful  helper,  he  attached  his  neighbors 
and  associates  to  him  very  warmly.  He  was 
popular  not  only  with  men  of  his  own  genera- 
tion, but  with  a  class  somewhat  younger  than 
himself,  and  his  memory  is  still  cherished  by 
many  of  them. 


ficucrc  Copper  Company 


VII. 

eldest  son  of  the 
James  already  sketched,  and  Hannah  (Ingols) 
Davis,  was  born  in  his  father's  house  No. 
15  Prince  Street,  Boston,  April  23,  1806,  and 
was  the  fourth  in  descent  of  that  name. 

He  received  his  education  partly  in  the 
public  schools  of  Boston,  and  subsequently 
as  a  private  pupil  residing  in  the  family  of 
his  teacher,  the  Rev.  Joseph  Richardson,  for 
many  years  Pastor  of  the  First  Church  in 
Hingham.  He  is  spoken  of  as  "  a  quietly 
behaved  and  rather  sedate  boy "  by  a  gentle- 
man now  living  who  remembers  him  at  the 
time.1 

His  business  career  began  in  the  office  of 
Messrs.  Josiah  Bradlee  &  Co.,  then  on  India 

1  Luther  Stephenson,  Esq.,  in  his  eighty-sixth  year,  residing  with  his  son  General 
Luther  Stephenson,  Jr.,  Governor  of  the  Soldiers'  Home  at  Togus,  Maine. 

28 


foctoere  Copper  Companp 


Street.  Graduating  therefrom  in  the  year 
1827,  he  was  shortly  after  admitted  to  part- 
nership with  his  father,  under  the  firm-name 
of  James  Davis  &  Son. 

Immediately  upon  the  organization  of  the 
Company,  he  was  appointed  the  agent  in 
Boston.  He  was  elected  Treasurer  January 
22,  1843,  and  continued  to  fill  this  latter  office 
until  his  retirement  from  active  business, 
February  27,  1872.  During  all  this  time, — 
from  1828  to  1872, —  covering  a  period  of 
forty-four  years,  he  managed  the  affairs  of 
the  Company  with  untiring  energy  and  con- 
summate skill.  Upon  the  death  of  Mr. 
Lincoln  he  was  made  President,  filling  that 
position  until  his  own  death,  May  28,  1881. 

He  was  never  married  and  the  family 
name,  in  this  branch,  became  extinct  upon 
his  death. 

He  visited  England  for  the  first  time  in 
1835,  and  subsequently  made  several  trips 


ftetoete  Copper  Companp 


abroad,  traveling  considerably,  on  one  occa- 
sion making  an  excursion  up  the  Nile. 

He  accumulated  quite  a  large  general 
library;  read  and  observed  intelligently,  and 
was  well  informed  on  the  current  topics  of 
the  time. 

Having  a  strong,  imperious  will,  he  could 
with  difficulty  brook  any  opposition ;  but  his 
intentions  were  just  and  his  impulses  gener- 
ous. Exact  and  exacting,  demanding,  how- 
ever, no  more  of  others  than  he  required  of 
himself  ;  energetic,  enterprising,  sagacious, 
and  bold,  his  ability  and  his  high  standing 
as  an  accomplished  merchant  were  indicated 
by  his  success,  and  were  readily  recognized 
by  the  community  in  which  his  work  was 
done.  His  character  for  integrity  and  honor- 
able dealing  secured  to  him  the  esteem  of 
those  having  any  transactions  with  him. 

It  is  cheerfully  and  gratefully  acknowledged 
that  whatever  there  may  be  of  real  value  in 


Copper  Company 


the  present  management  of  the  Company  is 
very  largely  due  to  his  careful  and  practical 
teaching  and  the  decided  impress  upon  it  of 
his  wise,  able,  and  successful  administration. 


ftetoore  Copper  Companp 


VIII. 

was  the  eldest  son  of  Joseph 
W.  and  Mary  (Robbins)  Revere,  and  was 
born  while  his  parents  were  living  at  No.  7 
Federal  Street,  Boston,  March  31,  1822. 

He  attended  the  public  schools  in  Boston, 
and  for  a  time  Mr.  Thayer's  school  in  Milton, 
which  meanwhile  was  removed  to  Jamaica 
Plain  ;  was  fitted  for  college  in  the  Boston 
Latin  School  under  Master  Dillaway;  entered 
Harvard  College  and  graduated  therefrom 
in  the  class  of  1841. 

Immediately  after  his  graduation  he  entered 
the  office  of  Messrs.  A.  &  C.  Cunningham, 
on  Rowe's  Wharf,  where  he  remained  until 
April,  1843,  when  he  went  out  to  Cronstadt 
in  the  brig  Kazan,  Captain  Leckie.  After 
leaving  the  brig  on  her  arrival  out,  he  trav- 


ftefcete  Copper  Companp 


eled  abroad  until  December  of  that  year. 
Mr.  Lincoln,  whose  visit  to  England  has 
already  been  mentioned,  met  Mr.  Revere 
in  London  during  his  stay  there. 

He  was  admitted  to  the  business  during 
the  following  year,  acquiring  stock  which 
was  transferred  to  him  January  n,  1845, 
and  was  elected  clerk  of  the  Corporation 
on  the  same  day.  He  was  made  acting 
agent  in  Boston  January  17,  1846;  assumed 
charge  of  the  mills  at  Canton  on  the  retire- 
ment of  Mr.  Lincoln,  September  n,  1858; 
was  elected  Treasurer  July  i,  1872,  and 
finally  chosen  President,  July  5,  1881,  remain- 
ing in  this  last  position  until  his  death. 

Amiable,  tender,  and  sensitive  to  a  very 
extraordinary  degree,  he  was  constantly  sac- 
rificing himself  for  others.  He  would  rather 
at  any  time  suffer  himself  than  run  any  risk 
of  disappointing  or  inconveniencing  another. 
This  course  unfortunately  prepared  for  him 


33 


ftcbcre  Copper  Companp 


burdens    and     complications     that    ultimately 
troubled  and  worried  him  a  good  deal. 

Every  instinct  of  his  nature  was  upright. 
He  was  absolutely  incapable  of  a  mercenary 
thought  or  purpose. 

In  many  ways  he  was  certainly  unsuited 
for  a  business  life.  He  had  no  love  for 
it.  It  was  a  competition  and  struggle  for 
preferment,  place,  or  gain  —  a  selfish  strife  - 
utterly  distasteful  to  him.  He  had  a  fond- 
ness for  literature,  read  understandingly, 
possessed  an  uncommon  memory,  and  had 
the  faculty  of  expressing  himself  in  writing 
with  unusual  felicity,  indicating  perhaps  the 
path  wherein  he  might  have  been  eminently 
successful.  His  own  preferences  were,  how- 
ever, never  permitted  by  him  to  weigh 
against  the  plans  or  wishes  of  his  father. 

It  seemed  to  be  impossible  for  him  to 
turn  away  unaided  an  applicant  for  assist- 
ance, especially  if  a  soldier,  or  belonging  to 


ftetocre  Copper  Companp 


a  soldier's  family.  The  presence  of  his  two 
brothers  in  the  army ;  their  active  work  and 
death,  naturally  attracted  and  interested  him 
in  all  the  events  and  participants  of  the  war. 
His  interest  in  everything  that  pertained  to 
the  Rebellion  was  never  in  the  least  abated, 
and  he  was  distinguished  for  his  intimate 
and  exact  knowledge  of  the  formation,  posi- 
tions, and  movements  of  the  army. 

Never  conspicuous  for  his  physical  vigor, 
he  finally  fell  into  a  decline,  resulting,  after 
a  weary  and  wearing  illness  of  nearly  two 
years,  in  his  death,  which  took  place  at 
his  home  in  Canton,  July  26,  I886.1 

It  was  my  fortune  to  be  associated  with 
him  for  a  period  of  more  than  forty  years 
in  relations  that  naturally  ripened  into  an 
intimacy  of  the  most  cordial  confidence ;  and 
it  is  now  a  gratification  to  me  to  cherish 

1  Two  of  Mr.  Revere's  sons  are  actively  engaged  with  the  Company  —  Mr.  William 
Bacon  Revere,  in  charge  at  Canton,  and  Mr.  Edward  Hutchinson  Robbins  Revere, 
in  the  Boston  office. 


35 


iicucrc  Copper  Companp 


the  recollection  of  his  many  excellent  qual- 
ities, and  to  do  what  I  may  by  an  honest 
loyalty  to  guard  and  preserve  his  memory. 


ftetoere  Copper  Companp 


IX. 


brother  of  the 
foregoing  James  Davis,  Jr.,  was  the  third 
son  and  youngest  child  of  James  and 
Hannah  (Ingols)  Davis,  and  was  born  while 
the  family  resided  at  No.  19  (afterward  23) 
Union  Street,  Boston,  April  10,  1824. 

He  attended  for  some  time  the  public 
schools  of  Boston,  completing  his  education 
in  Mr.  Greene's  school  at  Jamaica  Plain. 

Entering  the  office  of  Messrs.  Philo  S. 
Shelton  &  Co.,  on  India  Wharf,  some  time 
in  the  early  part  of  1840,  where  he  remained 
for  about  two  years. 

He  withdrew  from  his  position  there  to 
obtain  a  knowledge  of  mineralogy  and  chem- 
istry under  the  careful  and  thorough  teaching 


ftetoere  Copper  Companp 


of  the  late  Dr.  Charles  T.  Jackson,  accom- 
panying him  in  his  exploration  of  1844  on 
Lake  Superior. 

He  came  into  the  Company  after  the 
establishment  of  the  smelting  -  works  at 
Point  Shirley,  having  some  shares  trans- 
ferred to  him  December  31,  1850;  was  the 
resident  agent  there,  continuing  such  until 
his  death,  from  typhoid  fever,  December 
u,  1854. 

He  took  very  high  rank  as  an  analytical 
chemist;  was  devoted,  industrious,  and  able 
in  the  department  assigned  to  him.  He  is 
spoken  of  in  a  published  description  of  the 
Point  Shirley  works  as  of  "great  ability, 
and  in  his  day  having  few  equals  and  cer- 
tainly no  superior."1 

Unselfish  and  generous,  he  was  a  warm 
and  steadfast  friend.  On  any  occasion  for 


!See  an    article   by  T.   Egleston,  PH.D.,    in  "The    Book  of    Mines,"  vol.   vii, 
No.  4,  July,  1886. 

38 


Copper 


it  his  helpfulness  was  ungrudging  and  un- 
stinted, regardless  alike  of  cost  or  exertion. 

His  early  death  prematurely  closed  a 
career  which  under  circumstances  wisely 
improved  might  have  been  an  extremely 
brilliant  one. 

Those  who  knew  him  most  familiarly  still 
remember  his  cheery,  cordial  greeting,  and 
his  hearty  response  to  their  sincere  regard 
for  him. 

The  following  obituary  notice  of  him  was 
written  by  Dr.  Jackson.1 

"  We  have  to  record  the  death  of  one  of 
our  excellent  practical  chemists  and  metallur- 
gists, Frederick  W.  Davis,  of  Boston,  who 
died  at  his  father's  house,  of  typhoid  fever, 
on  the  1 2th  of  December  last,  at  the  age  of 
thirty-one  years.  Mr.  Davis  received  a  good 
education  at  the  school  of  Mr.  Greene,  of 
Jamaica  Plains,  in  Roxbury,  and  was  then 

JThe  American  Journal  of  Science  and  Arts,  vol.  xix,  page  448. 

39 


itctorre  Copper  Companp 


placed  under  the  scientific  instruction  of  Dr. 
Charles  T.  Jackson,  in  whose  laboratory  he 
pursued  his  studies  with  great  diligence  and 
success,  for  three  years. 

"In  1844  he  accompanied  Dr.  Jackson  in 
his  early  explorations  of  the  copper  regions 
of  Lake  Superior,  and  distinguished  himself 
as  an  active  and  faithful  explorer  of  the 
mineral  district  on  Keweenaw  Point.  In  1847 
he  was  appointed  by  the  Revere  Copper 
Company  as  Superintendent  of  their  copper- 
smelting  furnaces  at  Point  Shirley,  which  he 
conducted  with  signal  ability  from  that  time 
until  he  was  seized  with  the  fever  of 
which  he  died.  While  attending  to  the 
active  and  complicated  business  of  the  copper- 
works,  making  all  the  assays  of  ores,  fluxes, 
furnace  slags,  and  of  the  crude  copper  pro- 
duced, he  found  time  to  make  many  inter- 
esting and  important  metallurgical  researches, 
and  many  scientific  observations  and  experi- 


ftetoere  Copper  Companp 


ments  on  the  formation  of  artificial  minerals, 
both  in  the  furnace  and  in  the  roasting  heaps 
of  copper  ores.  He  produced  a  new  mineral, 
composed  of  the  sulphurets  of  zinc  and 
copper,  which  was  found  in  brilliant  black 
crystals  in  the  roasted  ores.  He  pointed  out 
several  new  forms  of  crystals  in  the  slags 
from  his  blast  furnaces,  and  he  also  beauti- 
fully illustrated  the  theory  of  the  formation 
of  native  copper  from  the  vaporized  chloride 
of  copper,  while  working  the  Atacamite  of 
Peru. 

"The  most  important  of  his  labors  were 
of  an  eminently  practical  nature,  such  as 
discovering  the  best  and  most  economical 
methods  of  mixing  the  various  copper  ores 
of  commerce,  so  as  to  make  one  ore  flux 
another,  and  thus  to  obtain  the  largest  yield 
of  metal  at  the  least  expense. 

"Science  and  the  arts  have  met  with  a 
great  loss  in  the  death  of  this  young  metal- 


firtorvc  Copper  Company 


lurgist,  whose  labors  were  calculated  to 
render  efficient  services  to  mankind  and  to 
raise  the  business  of  the  working  furnace 
to  the  rank  of  a  truly  chemical  art  and 
science. 

"  His  numerous  friends  and  acquaintances 
well  knew  his  worth  as  a  man  and  a  friend; 
always  generous,  considerate,  and  kind,  and 
never  wanting  in  public  spirit  when  occasion 
called  him  out,  he  was  both  respected  and 
beloved  by  all  who  knew  him." 


&etoere  Copper 


X. 


was  the  eldest  son  of 
Thomas  and  Welthia  (Sprague)  Winsor,  and 
was  born  in  Duxbury,  Mass.,  December  31, 
1803. 

He  began  his  business  education  in  the 
office  of  Mr.  Joseph  Ballister,  on  Central 
Wharf,  in  Boston,  at  the  age  of  sixteen  ; 
subsequently  taking  a  position  in  his  father's 
office,  with  whom  his  uncles,  Phineas  and 
Seth  Sprague,  became  associated,  where  he 
remained  until  his  father's  death,  in  1832. 

On  the  twenty-ninth  of  May,  in  that  year, 
he  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Ann  Davis, 
the  eldest  daughter  of  Mr.  James  Davis,  here- 
inbefore sketched.1  She  was  born  in  Boston, 


l  The  ceremony  was  performed  by  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson,  then  pastor  of  the 
Second  Church,  in  Boston. 


Hrbcrc  Copper  Companp 


December  3,  1808,  and  died  there,  from  an 
accident,  September  27,  1881. 

A  business  venture  on  his  own  account 
resulted  disastrously  from  certain  operations 
during  the  Eastern  land  speculation  of  1835, 
into  which  he  was  drawn. 

Still  later  he  was,  by  appointment  of  the 
Court,  employed  as  assignee  in  the  settlement 
of  estates  under  the  National  Bankrupt  Act 
of  1841  ;  then  became  a  member  of  the  firm 
of  Phineas  Sprague  &  Co.,  until,  in  1852, 
he  removed  to  Philadelphia  to  take  charge 
of  a  steamship  line  about  to  be  established. 

This  line,  under  his  wise,  careful,  and  ener- 
getic management,  proved  a  complete  success. 
Beginning  with  two  steamers  of  five  hundred 
tons  each,  it  has  been  gradually  expanded 
until  it  has  now  a  fleet  of  seven  steamers, 
aggregating  nine  thousand  tons,  running  from 
Philadelphia  to  Boston,  to  Providence,  and 
to  Fall  River.  It  was  incorporated  in  1872 


ftetoete  Copper  Companp 


as  the  Boston  and  Philadelphia  Steamship 
Company,  of  which  Mr.  Winsor  was  presi- 
dent from  that  time  until  his  death. 

His  business  capacity  and  sterling  integrity 
were  soon  recognized  in  Philadelphia,  where 
he  became  prominent  in  every  effort  to  ad- 
vance the  public  good.  The  confidence  re- 
posed in  him  was  indicated  by  the  numerous 
positions  of  trust  to  which  he  was  invited  - 
as  a  member,  and  for  many  years  president, 
of  the  Harbor  Commission ;  a  vice-president 
of  the  Board  of  Trade ;  a  director  of  the 
Bank  of  North  America,  of  the  Insurance 
Company  of  North  America,  of  several  coal 
and  iron  mining  companies,  and  a  manager 
of  the  Western  Savings  Fund  Association. 
He  was  also  a  member  of  the  Centennial 
Board  of  Finance,  to  whose  labors  much  of 
the  success  of  that  great  exposition  was  due. 
In  all  these  he  did  his  full  portion  of  the 
work,  bringing  to  it  his  sound  judgment  and 
his  matured  wisdom. 


45 


ftetoere  Copper  Companp 


He  indulged  to  some  extent  his  taste  for 
writing.  Some  of  his  sketches  were  pub- 
lished in  Litters  Living  Age.  He  printed 
more  than  one  volume.  They  are  now  all 
out  of  print,  however,  excepting  "  Montrose  and 
other  Biographical  Sketches,"  issued  anony- 
mously from  the  press  of  Soule  &  Williams, 
in  Boston,  1861.  A  number  of  incomplete 
discussions  on  financial  and  economic  sub- 
jects were  found  among  his  papers.  A  critic 
writes  that  "  he  exhibited  much  grace  of  style, 
elegance  of  diction,  and  erudite  knowledge." 

One  who  had  known  him  for  a  long  time 
in  connection  with  some  of  his  public  trusts, 
says :  2 "  He  was  tenacious  of  his  opinions, 
and  they  were  always  formed  after  thought. 
He  was  not  easily  shaken  in  his  views,  but 
a  more  just  man  never  lived,  and  if  con- 
vinced he  was  in  the  wrong  he  instantly 
gave  way.  Never  swerved  by  personal  pref- 

«  Mr.  William  R.  Tucker,  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Trade  in  Philadelphia. 

46 


ftetoere  Copper  Companp 


erence,  he  did  his  own  thinking  and  arrived 
at  his  own  conclusions." 

This,  however,  was  a  description  of  him 
away  from  his  home.  Those  who  knew  him 
more  intimately,  socially,  and  in  his  family, 
received  a  warmer,  more  tender,  and  loving 
impression  of  him.  His  disposition  was  so 
sweet,  —  no  other  word  will  express  it  as 
well, --his  temperament  so  equable,  that  the 
perplexities  of  business  and  the  trials  of  life, 
of  both  which  he  had  a  full  share,  neither 
disheartened  nor  soured  him  in  the  least. 
He  bore  misfortunes  and  suffering  without 
a  murmur.  A  mistake  affecting  him,  if 
frankly  acknowledged,  would  pass  without 
reproof,  and  the  error  would  be  readily  con- 
doned ;  but  any  deception  or  dishonesty  —  the 
abuse  of  his  confidence-- moved  his  indig- 
nation intensely. 

The  following  is  extracted  from  our  own 
records :  — 


47 


Copper 


"  He  became  interested  in  the  business  of 
this  Company  by  a  transfer  of  shares  October 
17,  1881. 

"  Upon  the  death  of  Mr.  John  Revere  he 
was  chosen  Director  and  President,  which 
offices  he  continued  to  fill  until  his  death. 

"  He  never  failed  to  give  the  active  man- 
agers of  the  business  the  benefit  of  his  large 
experience  and  his  exceptionally  sound  judg- 
ment. His  convictions  were  positive,  frankly 
expressed,  and  without  the  least  concealment, 
but  never  in  the  manner  of  factious  criticism. 
His  generous  and  kindly  encouragement,  his 
philosophic  estimate  of  the  value  of  mistakes 
and  misfortunes,  were  always  a  support  and 
incentive. 

"Until  his  final  sickness  his  mental  powers 
remained  unabated ;  and  he  never  ceased  to 
give  his  hearty  endorsement  to  every  effort 
made  for  the  advancement  of  the  business, 

the  good  name  and  stability  of  the  Company. 

48 


ftctoere  Copper  Company 


"  His  cheerful  and  inspiring  presence,  which 
made  his  visits  here  so  extremely  enjoyable, 
will  be  seriously  and  for  a  long  time  sadly 
missed." 


A     000  033  94C 


